Congratulations to our client, Nottinghamshire County Council, on winning their bid to secure site for first-of-a-kind Nuclear fusion plant.

Cascade helped position West Burton A power station to be chosen to be the UK’s and potentially the world’s, first prototype commercial nuclear fusion reactor.

With the UK Government shortlisting five sites across the UK, the Cascade team assisted Nottinghamshire Country Council with their parliamentary engagement, championing the huge potential that former coal power stations in the county had for this scheme, alongside the local infrastructure and supply chain.

Here’s the case we helped present to Government in support of West Burton A:
  • West Burton is situated in Britain’s ‘Megawatt valley’, at the heart of the UK’s power generation industry for decades via coal and gas fired power generation.
  • It is already becoming a focus for renewable energy and electricity storage plans, and has ample land availability and the power generation infrastructure to support STEP.
  • Strong connections to manufacturing and construction firms and the world-renowned research capabilities of Midlands’ universities, supported by the Energy Research Accelerator.
  • The Fossil2Fusion submission outlines many technical reasons that make West Burton a convincing location for STEP.
  • It represents the greatest opportunity to capitalise on the benefits to meet the strong imperative for levelling up.
  • The proposal both complements and supports the efforts of local partners to establish a Mayoral Combined Authority led devolution deal for the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire area.
  • As part of a comprehensive vision for boosting the local and wider area, STEP at West Burton would play a crucial role in reversing the local area’s challenging levels of economic activity, employment, skills, qualifications, productivity and earnings – compared with other UK regions and country-wide rates.
  • It would provide over 600 permanent jobs and be a key catalyst for innovation-led productivity gains across the region’s existing clusters and R&D sites.
  • It would reinforce local pride and stimulate house-building for the next generation supporting economic development and enriching communities.
  • The STEP site will become an international hub for fusion development, requiring the best of our indigenous talent and attracting the brightest minds from across the world. There are five universities within 50km of West Burton with an annual combined graduate output capacity of 112,000 and postgraduate output of 35,800.
  • A growing pool of scientists, engineers and technicians in the regional nuclear sector will be attracted to stay in the region if STEP is backed.
  • Midlands Engine partners have identified low-carbon energy as one of the priority areas for the region as part of our Ten Point Plan for Green Growth.
  • Currently, the energy sector in the Midlands supports 30,000 direct jobs and 78,000 jobs in its supply chain – one third of all employees in the UK-wide energy sector. This contributes £5 billion to the regional economy and so it is vital that new roles are created in a modern energy sector for these highly skilled workers.
  • A decision to site STEP at West Burton in 2022 would align with regional development and levelling up ambitions and plans, and an iconic symbol of the country’s commitment to move from fossil fuels to a net zero energy economy.
  • By transforming a former coal site and committing to levelling up a region that has long been overlooked, there is a chance right now to demonstrate how the country will reach net zero by 2050 – not by taking away more green fields, but by turning old fossil into new fusion.

For further information on this project, or discuss your requirements, get in contact with our team.